East Longmeadow beats Minnechaug, 2-1 on penalty kicks for Western Mass.Division I girls soccer title

Anne Stack stood tall in goal as East Longmeadow won its first Western Massachusetts Division I soccer title on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Minnechaug. (Republican file photo.)

WESTFIELD - The underdogs played with the heart of a champion, but so did the top seed.

No. 1 East Longmeadow used the time-tested formula of strong defensive, excellent goalkeeping and opportunistic scoring to eke out a 2-1 victory on penalty kills over No. 11 Minnechaug Sunday in the Western Massachusetts Division I girls final. at Westfield State University's Alumni Field.

Never mind that Minnechaug entered the tournament with a 5-6-5 record and won three games to reach the final. For the third time this season, the Falcons gave the Spartans all they could handle.

.East Longmeadow (15-2-1) won the two previous meetings by a single goal. On Sept. 13, the Spartans claimed a 2-1 victory over the Falcons and did it again on Oct. 20 with a 1-0 verdict.

It was fitting that the final would come down to two worthy opponents who know a thing or two about playing defense. East Longmeadow will continue its season in the state tournament here on Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Central Mass. champion Nashoba, a 3-0 winner over Shrewsbury on Sunday.

This was an epic final that exceeded reulation, not once, but twice without anyone deciding. It came down to penalty kicks and East Longmeadow prevailed, 3-1 to claim the game and the title. Sarah Waltsak, Madison Grande and Alyssa Balboni scored the penalty kicks for the Spartans to offset the lone Falcon connection by Amber Tobin.

This is East Longmeadow's first sectional title since 2003 when coach Jenny Maurer was a player. But that was when the Spartans were a Division II team and Sunday's crown was their first as a Divisiion I unit.

"This is a very special group and I'm very proud of them,'' Maurer said. "They deserve this.''

The only thing that stood in East Longmeadow's path to glory was Minnechaug and all the Spartans needed to do was beat the Falcons for a third time this season. Yes, it is tough to beat a team three times in one season and this hard fought- game was certainly proof of that.''

"We have eight seniors who have so much heart and they stepped up,'' Maurer said. "They are a family, on and off the field, and that's what gets them through this.''

The storybrook season for Minnechaug came to an end with the final chapter not turning out quite the way the Falcons envisioned. Needing a win and a tie in their final two games to qualify for postseason, the Falcons saw those game wiped out by the October snowstorm, but gained entry into the tournament via a waiver.

Minnechaug's tough,'' Maurer said. "They gave it all they had.''

They made a valiant bid to become the first five-win regular season team to claim a Western Mass.Division I title with wins over Longmeadow, Northampton and Pittsfield. But Minnechaug got healthy and peaked at the right time.

"I'm proud of this team, even more proud than I am of the team that won the state title,'' coach Nundi Goncalves said. "To lose in the final is tough, but to lose on penalty kicks is even tougher.''

East Longmeadow freshman Alyssa Hyland and Minnechaug senior Lauren MacLellan traded goals during regulation. But this was a game that belonged to the goalkeepers and both were outstanding.

Minnechaug's Ann Marie Ribeiro made 13 saves and stopped several bids by East Longmeadow to add to its 1-0 lead.

"She was phenomenal,'' Goncalves said.

Then there was East Longmeadow's Anne Stack, who finished with nine saves, included some sparkling saves on several testers.

"She was phenomenal,'' Maurer said.

The only shot to elude her prior to the penalty kicks, was a direct kick by McLellan, who is bound for Boston University. She rocketed a blast through a crowd that caught the far left corner of the net to tie the game at one apiece with 11:05 remaining in regulation.

"Anne was tremendous and she was our wall,'' Maurer said. "People don't realize she uses her feet so well that she eliminates so many problems ''

East Longmeadow opened the scoring when Hyland took a lead pass from Julia Weihofer, used her speed to get behind the defense and drilled home a point blank shot.

"It was a perfect pass through the defenders and I just happened to be there,'' Hyland said. "It was a great opportunity.''

Minnechaug, which, lost to Chicopee Comp in last year's final, matched East Longmeadow's intensity throughout the game.